


Caligo

by Piriluk (orphan_account)



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Character Death, Death, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, Magic, Magic-Users, Minor Violence, Multi, Non-Graphic Violence, Romance, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts, War, dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 16:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6432601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Piriluk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"…then, I'd hate to know what eternity feels like…"—The future, a burden weighing heavy on the shoulders of self-doubt. One mistake, and the saviour would become the enemy. Eventual Rin/Len.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caligo

> **True magic results from the courage of the heart**
> 
> **Boys and girls, be ambitious**
> 
> **One step can change the world**

—Ken Akamatsu, _Mahou Sensei Negima!_ Chapter 355, pg 19  
(translation: CanonRap, Red Hawk Scanlations)

_._

_._

"Why?" she asked. "Why are you not scared? Why? Even _I_ —" She paused to gesture to herself, "— _I_ would be afraid. Did you want this? Is this what you wanted? What kind of masochist _are_ you?"

Her eyes, though probably not intentional, were sharp, hostile, judgemental; bore into the girl's like ice shards, slowly slicing into every essence of dignity she had left. The strings holding her together were already wearing so _thin—_

It wasn't so much a surprise, though. After years of killing, of seeing death and horror, of experiencing dreaded realisation—everyone was bound to hold that look. The scars were now set, ready to become the future's nightmare. It had been done before—and it would be done again. Again, and again.

 _Fear_ was _control._

The woman's expression wavered—terror, confusion, loss, anything and everything she may have experienced once in all this time of self-destruction, surfaced—though, she tried her best to maintain her stature.

She was too young, and that youth was stolen away, replaced with an eternity of pain.

Something one was all too familiar acquainted with.

"You know, Meiko _can_ do it," she spoke up again, voice trembling slightly. "She's not bluffing. I've seen her done it to too many of your people. And you know— _we_ know—you could run away from this. You don't have to die."

"Don't you think your friend would be disappointed, knowing you're trying to talk me out of this?" the girl spoke. She was hidden like a secret in the corner of the room; though all knew of her, what she'd done, what she was.

A _monster_.

The woman hesitated, closed her eyes. "Acquaintance," she corrected firmly, as if the thought of being friends with the other person in question disgusted her. "Even though I've committed it, it doesn't mean I agree with murder."

Her companion smiled slightly. It wasn't bitter; just amused. "Don't forget you're talking to a murderer," she pointed out.

"We're all murderers, aren't we?" Her elder gave her a sympathetic look. "So… why won't you…"

The room fell silent, before the girl spoke again—"The war is over. What is the point? What I've done has been done. There's nothing else. I have lost. You people have won. I have no more meaning. _Nox meidis_ is a thing of the past, left to join the angels in their graves. So, why won't I?"

The woman's eyes fell. "You're young. Don't you have someone to love? Don't you want to have a future?"

The huddled figure twitched, before rising from the floor of her cell. Incantation-covered hands wavered, pulled her cloak closer to her frail figure. They had starved her for weeks; there was no point in fighting back now. Not that she intended to. She came to the decision long, long ago.

One _could_ manage to live forever without food—if they wanted to be nothing but a breathing corpse, completely debilitated from excruciating pain. At least death would be quicker because of her current strength—well, lack thereof.

Her visitor took a calculated step backwards, as if readying herself to flee. There was no reason to; but still.

"Young to look at, of course," the girl muttered. "I died long ago at heart. _This_ is my future. It has been decided."

Blue eyes softened, as if trying to search for a reason to encourage her to live.

She sat back down onto the dirt ground, exhausted, wishing that she could be alone for once. It was either this, or verbal abuse from this lady's 'acquaintance'. "You'll understand when the reality hits you, my friend."

"Friend?" the woman simply repeated back at her, as if the word was foreign.

"You never know. It's a word some of us could use."

She pressed her lips together, as if wanting to argue, but restrained herself from doing so. "What happens if the war returns? You'll be gone."

"Why would you want the same war to return? It's not like you're fighting on my side, goodness."

"I—" She looked down at her hands. "It's not like I ever disagreed with what your side believes in."

The smaller female laughed. "Then who are you fighting for? The angels? I can't bring them back. Only a time traveller could—and they're all dead!"

"That's not…" The woman frowned, struggling for words.

"Of course, the war is not over. It's never over," she interjected. "Maybe that's when we'll meet again."

The sound of footsteps interrupted their conversation, followed by the presence of a brunette with a look of bloodlust in her eyes. "Luka?" she barked on recognising her partner. "What are you doing here? Stop speaking to her!"

"M-Meiko," Luka choked out, backing away. "Merely just discussing the order of what's to come—"

"Is it necessary?" Meiko groused. She strode over to the prisoner and hauled her onto her feet, fixing a strong grip on her arm. "I'm sure the wretched thing knows what's in for her."

The girl gave the brunette a wry smile. "Well, I've never had this done to me before, so no. Not exactly."

"Shut up," she snapped.

The pair led her into another room, not much an improvement from the cell. It was dim lit, and the air so thick it made it almost impossible to breathe. In the centre, surrounded by four basins, was a cement table with intricate carvings on the surface—incantations.

Meiko turned her hard gaze back to the girl who'd hardly bat an eyelid at the sight. "If you have anything else decent to say, might as well say it now, considering you won't be able to do it very shortly."

"I never have anything decent to say," she said while being escorted to the table. "But one request, since you asked so kindly."

An unknown man closed in to restrain her, forcing her down onto her deathbed, a grimace etched into his face. Meiko moved away to fetch some rope.

Someone asked, "What is it?"

The girl laughed, albeit nervously—the feeling was there, and there was no point in hiding it any more.

"Remember this face," she told the two women. She shook the hood of her cloak away from her head. "When you see this face again, the third and final war will come. You will all die. Fear will be control, and in your faces, I see no fear."

Then she was gagged, and those were the last words the Caligo ever spoke.

Words that were somehow only forgotten by the monster herself.

.

.

**PROLOGUE END**

**Author's Note:**

> umm so nothing in my a/n on ffn is relevant here since i never posted the original of caligo on ao3, so hi.  
> this is a second take of a story ive been (neglecting) working on since 2014. 
> 
> im assuming no one has read the original version, because lol who would, but uh, im gonna put the list of changes between the new version and the original just in case-
> 
> \- different prologue. i know it might not make much sense because its unclear of what exactly is happening, but it really is a prologue (way way way before Rin and Len are birthed). kind of as the story is revealed, itll make more sense if you get mmeeeee.  
> \- POV (third person, rin-centric); makes explaining things a whole lot easier, even if it does make it seem a little less… personalised. first person is fun, but can butcher quality. which is why im switching tense (past tense); its a lot less awkward to work with, straightforward and less difficult to heck up :')  
> \- length; while i know people prefer longer chapters, its just a whole lot more efficient sticking to shorter lengths (around 2,500-3,500), as a) takes less time to write, b) meaning i can update faster, c) easier to absorb what happens bc its not so information-heavy, and d) just allows pacing, i guess.  
> \- names of things (mostly changed to latin/latin-inspired words); norhsoean or w/e is homo meidis (so if ur confused just think homo sapien = human-level magic, yeah, yes), caelego is nox meidis (technically dark magic), etc. i havent gotten that far to change more names but the list will grow
> 
> no changes in plot, besides what has been listed above. although chapters have been shortened, its mostly just ending in the middle of a chapter with little/no change of the actual plot.
> 
> slams foot down, tbh idk if any of this was beta'd, it hasnt been touched since dec and idk where my beta went lolol rolls down hill and into grave
> 
> ok thnx 4 reading my shitstorm.


End file.
